Paintings

Friday, September 16, 2011

Extruder Canes

First off, let me say, I am not big on making canes. All that fuss budgeting around with the blends and the rolling and the shrinking and the pounding. I just don't like doing it. I don't mind making striped ingots so much. They are pretty simple and you can do a lot with them. But the canes. Fuggeddabout it.

So imagine my delight when I recently discovered that you could make canes in an extruder. In Maggie Maggio's book titled" Polymer Clay Color Inspirations", she has a section on making these types of canes.

Essentially, all you do is layer circles of varying colors, roll out the log to fit into the extruder, and extrude.

What I really like about it is that every section of the cane is different. All the designs you see in this photo are from the same cane. Even the other side sometimes has a different design on it.

Some people combine the extruded logs together and get what they call Klimt canes. But I like keeping them separate. I feel like I have more control over how they are placed.

These colors are from the Color Palette A week #37. The colors are Red Ribbon, Nougat, Hyacinth and Persian Red. An unusual palette to be sure but I like the way it came out!

cool. I do love that pendant shape, so pleasing. I am a cane maker, I love all that stuff you don't lol, but I also like the extruder cane, the change in pattern is great. Have you tried doing the flower version the basic idea in English here -http://paroledepate.canalblog.com/archives/2010/01/10/16116619.html and a slightly improved way in russian here http://grgalina.livejournal.com/58240.html - use google tanslate unless your russian is better than mine ;)

Artist Statement

For most of my life I have been a painter. I have worked in pen and ink, watercolors, gouache, oils and acrylics. I have always painted the world around me in all its true splendor. For many years I lived in the tropics and painted the lush plant life that surrounded me. When I left the tropics and moved out into the country I painted landscapes of the local farms and my wonderful vegetable garden. Now that I am living in the Sonoran desert, I am influenced by the very unique and wonderful looking cactus and flowers I see on my walks.

Thank you for looking at my work and please get in touch if you would like to purchase something.